Hailey, a combination born of sea foam and desire

Craig

Color and sound returned to the world. Tension unwound like the exhale of a long held breath. The sun sank over the horizon, its last rays bathing the beach in a golden glow. There were no voices on this remote, pebbly section of beach, just the rustle of sliding stones in the waves. A cool spray from waves hitting rock contrasted with the still warm sand. The smell of the ocean in the air was so thick, you could taste the salt.

At least Craig assumed that was all still happening because every one of his senses was focused completely on the captivating figure in front of him. The transformation had completed and Craig searched for a sign of Lily in the new woman. She and Hank had been fighting up until the moment their heads combined completely, leaving a relaxed face and unfocused eyes.

Parts of her were familiar - the slim waist, the elegant neck, the shape of the nose, the brown eye. But this was a woman who would never be mistaken for the old Lily. His eyes darted between her breasts straining against her top, her long, smooth legs, her wide, curvy hips. Even the incongruous abs only added to the appeal as they flexed slightly with each breath. He couldn't believe that Hank had somehow contributed to creating such a vision.

Craig probably should have been embarrassed. He should be freaking out. But what had just happened was so surreal, he could hardly bring himself to believe it. He also realized that he was trying to watch, experience, and feel. Anything but think about how he had failed Lily.

He had thought college would be a new start, but as soon as he heard that voice, he had reverted back into a high school wimp. He hadn't even needed to look up to see who it was, his body had reacted instinctively after so many beatings and humiliations. Hank always said he wasn't man enough. Now, Craig's lip started to tremble as he could only come to the conclusion that Hank had been right. Lily had needed his protection, had needed a man who would stand up for her when she was physically confronting a violent man three times her size. But he just stood aside and watched. Even after the magic had started its work, she didn't want his help.

"She loves me?" He muttered ruefully to himself. "For what? I didn't even have the chance to tell her how I really feel. In her last moments, I let her think I deserved better, that she wasn't good enough."

"I love you, Craig."

He was shocked out of his introspection by the voice. It almost sounded like Lily's, but throatier and with a confident cadence.

"Lily?" He gasped hopefully. From the words, he would have expected a look of love, or at least joy. But he shrank under the woman's hungry gaze as she rose to her feet. He had felt looked down on by Hank despite their similar height and most of his memories of Lily were of looking up at him. This woman however, stood directly eye-to-eye with him.

"Hank?" Craig's stomach clenched and fear started rising up his throat.

"No, not Hank. But not Lily either," She replied, allaying his fear.

"Huh, door number three, then." Craig muttered, now even more curious.

At least it's not Hank, He thought to himself. I couldn't have dealt with him controlling Lily's body. Although that last thing he said . . .

His wandering mind was brought back as she spoke again. "They made me, but I'm not them. I think it's like this body." She brought a hand up, boldly grasping a full breast with a grin on her face. "They both contributed, but I'm more than just a collection of parts. I'm me."

"Do . . . " Craig was distracted more than a moment watching the boob fill her hand before remembering what he was trying to say. "Do you have a name?"

"Not yet. . ." She answered playfully. She made a show of cocking a hip and placing an elegant finger against her pouting lips. She held her exaggerated thinking pose a second before continuing. "How about Hailey?"

"So Hank + Lily?" He said skeptically.

"I am what I am, don't expect me to hide from it." She started gliding towards him with an athletic grace. "They made me, but they don't define me. I know what they knew, I have their memories. Their fears, their insecurities," She clenched a fist, a look of anger flared on her face, "Those are a part of me too. But I'm not going to make the same mistakes they did."

She drew closer now, uncomfortably close. Her two mismatched eyes filled Craig's vision.

"Lily needed an existential crisis to tell you how she felt. She was too embarrassed about her body to let you know how she felt." Hailey's intense gaze softened with her words. "You don't know me, but I have two sets of memories telling me how great you are. How gentle and caring. How good a listener you are."

Hailey's arms slowly slithered around Craig's waist. "You're smart, you're funny, and you know how to fill out a pair of swim trunks." She emphasized her words by pulling his pelvis to her and gently griding her skin-tight shorts against his still half-mast cock.

"Woah!" Craig exclaimed, jumping out of her grip. His hand unconsciously grabbed at his seashell necklace to steady himself. "Where did that come from?"

"I've seen how you check out women. You like what you see when you look at me." She purred with pleasure as she gently ran her hands down her stomach to her shorts. "Lily's biggest regret was not being honest with you about how much she wanted you, wanted to be fucked by you. She wanted you to be her first, it was supposed to happen tonight."

"Tonight?" Craig whispered. He was blushing, his hand still on his necklace but his thoughts were getting clouded. His desire for Lily was mixing with a building lust for the woman in front of him.

"Well, I'm not going to make you wait. I want you to know up front, I want you Craig. All of you." She grabbed her breasts, squeezing them together for emphasis. "Anything you want, any time, I'm yours. Fuck my tits? Bend me over a table and pound me? Tie me up? Breed me? Everything is on the table." Hailey made a show for Craig, rubbing her thighs together and roughly groping herself while biting a lip and giving a look of undisguised lust.

Craig's brain had short-circuited. In front of him was a vision out of his wildest fantasies. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. His hands drifted forward slowly, as if pulled by the attractive **** of Hailey's erotic body. She gasped in pleasure when he touched her, his fingers tracing the smooth skin of her waist down to her hips. Her scent filled his nostrils: sand, sweat and arousal. His hands reached around to cup her round ass and pull her to him. He could feel her heat as his cock present insistently against her through his trunks. His eyes were closing as his head tilted instinctively when his reverie was shattered by a flash of color.

Red. Red highlights in black hair. It all came together then, the swagger, the cocky grin, the muscles, the fierce green eye.

Craig's body recoiled. His arms pulled across his chest in expectation of an incoming blow. After a moment of panic, he looked up to see a different Hailey. She looked small and scared now, her shoulders drooped.

"So that's it?" She said, defeated. "You don't even see me do you? Just her. Or him."

"No! I'm sorry." Craig's sensitivity kicked in. "It's not your fault, this just happened all of a sudden. And then you were all sexy, but also . . . overwhelming?" He took her hands in his, getting back to familiar territory. "I'm sure you're great, but I have a girlfriend."

Hailey sighed and shook her head in disbelief, putting on a wry smile. "Only you would turn down a sex ****. Fine." She took a deep breath and gathered herself up again. "I probably wouldn't like you if you weren't so loyal. Anyway. Let's start over. I'm Hailey. It's great to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you."

Craig was confused at the direction their interaction had taken, but at least he wasn't reminded of Hank anymore. Hank never would have been able to respect a boundary and apologize.

"Uh, so . . . tell me about yourself, I guess?"

"OK where to start?" Hailey broke out in an endearingly earnest smile and started bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Well, I used to be Lily and Hank, but thanks to a magic necklace, I'm a combination of both of them, but just the best parts. I'm still sentimental and thoughtful and artsy, but I'm not ashamed of my body. I'm sporty and energetic, but I'm not an asshole. And this bod!" Hailey paused to do a flawless pirouette, showing off her form from all angles. "It's like half fitness model, half sex goddess. I'm trying to hold back, but you were willing to wait for Lily, so I can wait for you."

"Hold on, the necklace!" Craig exclaimed, his eyes alighting on the emerald still sitting on her chest.

"Really? That's what you got out of that?"

"Let me see it, does it have etchings? I could try to trace its origin to see if there are any legends about it and how it's used."

"Why?" Hailey asked, suddenly protective of it.

"To figure out how to undo the fusion." Craig blurted out excitedly.

"You want to get rid of me?" Hailey asked softly, pain in her voice.

Craig sighed. Why did this have to be so complicated? He thought to himself. "I'm not trying to get rid of you. I need to know Lily is alright. I don't blame you for what happened, but she never asked for this. Neither of them did."

Craig saw tears start to well in Hailey's eyes before she turned away and, with a struggle, **** composure onto her face. He felt for her in that moment; new to the world and being overwhelmed by emotion but trying to spare him the burden of her grief.

"I understand." She said softly. "You're already really good at archaeology so I'm sure you'll figure it out. But can I ask one thing first?"

"Anything." It was true; Craig knew in that moment he wouldn't be able to deny this girl anything.

"Craig, will you go out on a date with me? I don't know how much time I have, so please, let us have this one night."

The sun had set and lights from the boardwalk were starting to light up. Craig embraced Hailey and rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's a date."